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Now that Xi Jinping has taken control of China's military, armed police and Coast Guard, the question is: What approach will his regime take in international relations? © Xinhua/AP

Analysis: Xi takes over Coast Guard and gives it a license to fire

President's consolidation of power at home will be felt in the East China Sea

Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff writer and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He is the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize for international reporting.

TOKYO -- China's new Coast Guard Law allowing the patrol force to fire at foreign ships in its waters represents a political victory for President Xi Jinping and turns these vessels into the equivalent of a second navy.

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